Julie Anne Culp isn’t an Internet safety expert. She’s a guidance counselor in Hendersonville, Tennessee who wanted to teach her fifth grade students to think carefully about what they post online. So she created an ingenious social experiment to drive home her message about Internet safety.

The best way to protect yourself while using a public WiFi network? To quote Consumer Reports, the best way to “protect all of your communications, even on open networks [is] by first installing a personal virtual private network app on your phone or computer.”

Although some people may believe “cloud storage” has something to do with weather fronts, it’s simply an easy way for anyone to save data with a remote, third-party database. And it’s becoming more and more mainstream. Any time you use Gmail to send an email, or upload photos to Shutterfly, as just two examples, you’re entrusting your personal and sensitive information to cloud storage.

From the “too ridiculous to be true” files — especially given the increasing number of data breaches at companies large and small — is the news that the most common corporate password is “Password1” because it just barely meets the minimum complexity requirements for length, capitalization, and numerical figures.

This data is from a report that shares the 7 biggest pitfalls and perils of corporate online security. Turns out that the costs of lost reputation, brand value, and tarnished image are just as serious as the financial ramifications of cleaning up a corporate data breach.

Consumers love their tablets. Their big touch screens and extreme portability make them ideal for browsing, apps, email, and a host of other online activities. So it’s not surprising that over half of users say tablets are their favorite device, according to Adobe data.

Unfortunately, tablets are also the favorite device of identity thieves, who love to hack them.

Bad habits? Risky behaviors? What you don’t know about cloud computing could hurt your company. Check out the findings from a new study that suggests that employees who use these applications are exposing their organizations to security breaches and data losses at a much higher rate than non-cloud users.

The benefits of being online far outweigh the risks, yet we also know that scams, hacks, and breaches lurk around every corner. How can we possibly sidestep all those digital pitfalls?

One approach is to become really aware of the potential consequences before we – and our children – connect. That’s no easy feat in a home that perhaps has two laptops, a few iPhones, an iPad, maybe even a PlayStation or Xbox Live, too.

We recently chatted with Michael Kaiser, the executive director of the National Cyber Security Alliance about ways families can implement a few security precautions so that everyone can connect with more confidence on the Internet.

Our CEO, Kent Lawson, was (infamously!) at last week’s RSA security conference in San Francisco. He said that one of the more interesting presentations had to do with the differences among generations in regards to their online security. This presentation contained survey information from ZoneAlarm, an online security company.

What does “mobile first, cloud first” mean for your online privacy? Mobile devices will get increasingly fast and easy to use. Security is going to be paramount given the threats with all this information being in the cloud. Information leakage on the cloud or exposure to hackers is still a very big threat without the use of a personal VPN. Find out what emerging mobile philosophies might be explored at next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and how it affects your online privacy.

Hunter Moore, the California man who became infamous for operating the “revenge porn” website IsAnyoneUp.com, was recently indicted on charges of stealing nude photos from hacked email accounts and posting them online. Moore, 27, and his alleged accomplice, Charles “Gary” Evens, 25, were charged with conspiracy, unauthorized access to a protected computer, and identity theft. What the two men are accused of highlights just how easy it can be to hack into email accounts and steal sensitive information. The results can be devastating for the victims.